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Rapid E6 Kit | Preparing for the #summerofslidefilm

Now that spring has finally arrived, I decided I would mix up the Rapid E6 Chemistry kit I bought from Argentix.ca a few weeks ago. Over the course of the last month, I shot several rolls of slide film.

Previous to now, I had to take my exposed color-positive films down to my local photo store. Yes, there is only one real photo store and even they need to send their E6 films away to be processed. Not only is the wait long (at least 2 weeks since they only process once per month) but the cost has recently increased which adversely affects the accessibility of my favorite photographic medium.

The Rapid E6 kit from Argentix.ca plus some old beer bottles.

When my current C41 kit became exhausted (which yielded 68 rolls, mostly all pushed), I decided to also order the Rapid E6 kit, so you can imagine my excitement when it arrived and I could finally process most film types by myself, whenever I felt like it.

Fresh C41 press Kit from Argentix.ca.

The chemistry was very easy to mix up since everything comes already in a liquid state. I heated up the water and added the series of chemicals, in order, to get my working solutions. I poured them into their respective bottles which, in an earlier life, were filled with beer. Everything was now all set and ready for the magic to begin.

Rolls of slide film, as well as some others, shot in preparation of trying out my new Rapid E6 kit.

In the leading weeks, I shot three rolls of E6-process film: Fuji Velvia 50 in 135, Fuji Sensia 100 in 135, and Fuji 64T in 120. I decided to process the 135’s together and let my tungsten-balanced Japanese friend get into the tank all by himself.

Some of the film that was processed: Fujichrome 64T and Fujichrome Sensia 100.

I won’t get into too many of the details of the development. It was nice having only three steps, compared to the four it takes with the C41 kit. One thing I have started doing with both C41, and now E6 is after the final wash, I will open up the tank and remove the film from the reel and give it a small bath in diluted PhotoFlo. It really accelerates the drying process and leaves to streaks or residue.

Without further ado, here are the first results:

Fuji Sensia 100

[05-2004]

Fuji Velvia 50

[Fresh]

Fuji 64T

[Exp 09-1990]

It’s hard for me to describe the experience that I feel the first time you look at processed slide film. There is something about the realness and the sense of dimension that is projected through the image. Beyond that, the colors are nothing short of striking. In this case, two of the rolls were quite past their recommended process by date, and their color shifts are quite noticeable. I am especially fond of the Fuji 64T, which I shot through an 85B filter to correct the Tungsten-balanced emulsion shot in daylight.

Next up, a few rolls of expired Fujichrome Provia 100F.

As an initial test, I would say it was a glowing success and I have a lot of motivation going into the #summerofslidefilm. The next step is to experiment with a film that has been slowly creeping into the number one spot, Fuji Provia 100F, both expired and fresh.